GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The father of Michael Haminger, the young man shot to death Sunday by a 14-year-old Walker boy, today said he supports a decision to prosecute the teen in family court.

The teen is to be arraigned Thursday on an open murder charge.

If convicted, he is expected to receive a blended juvenile-adult sentence and could be in a juvenile detention lockdown until he is 19, then be moved to an adult correctional facility, said Douglas Haminger.

He spoke with prosecutors working on the case.

"This way, he at least has a chance of surviving and coming out better," he said. "Let's face it, the adult prison system doesn't really have that much going for it.

"It doesn't have that many programs. This kid is 14. He probably needs psychiatric help and he needs proper education," Haminger said.

Douglas Haminger said he was told that his son, 20, asked the teen about some homework on Sunday afternoon and whether the teen needed help.

"He lipped off to my son and said something like 'I don't need your help,'" Haminger said. "My son gave him one of those two-fingered taps on the back of the head."

It was at that point, he said, that the boy pulled out the gun.

"I think it was to the point that whatever was troubling this teen, it just boiled over," Haminger said.

He did not believe that his son and the teen had any altercations in the past, but did not know how well they got along.

Haminger said he was told by others that the teen was being taught gun safety and the weapon had been used for target practice in nearby woods.

Kent County prosecutors have told him that the teen, if convicted, is likely to be incarcerated for 12 to 20 years, with the first five in the juvenile system and a minimum seven additional years in the adult system.

"This way, when he does get out, he has a running chance of being a useful member of society," Haminger said.

He knows that others do not understand why he supports a prosecution in Kent County family court, as opposed to adult court. Even his daughter did not at first understand how he could show compassion.

"I told her that, all that hatred, where does it get you? This boy has already destroyed his life. How much more do you want to destroy," Haminger said.

Michael Haminger, a father of a young daughter whose girlfriend is about seven months pregnant, planned to take a final test this week to obtain his GED.

"He was trying to show responsibility," he said. "Things were just starting to straighten out for him."

Funeral services for Michael Haminger are 4 p.m. Friday at Reyers North Valley Chapel, 2815 Fuller Ave., N.E., with visitation for two hours before the funeral.